NBA All-Star 2016: Paul George on emotional return after horrific injury

George missed 76 games last season after breaking his leg in August 2014

Tom Sheen
Tuesday 09 February 2016 16:59 GMT
Comments

Paul George's road to recovery was a long one.

But his return to superstardom has come quicker than anyone could have predicted.

The Indiana Pacer broke his leg during a freak injury during a Team USA scrimmage in August 2014. The forward, just 23 when it happened, had been one of the league's rising stars to that point challenging LeBron James, then of the Miami Heat, as the main rivals in the Eastern Conference.

George was the star player and a two-time All-Star on a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in successive seasons.

But the leg break and eight month recovery saw him miss 76 games last season. Many feared the worst.

He played six games, but his minutes and numbers in almost every major statistical were way down.

After another season of hard work, George returned, promising to be better than ever. Many doubted him but he's proved them all wrong.

His proposed move to power forward never worked out, but George is set to return to the All-Star game on Sunday following a season in which he is posting a career high in points (23.3-per-game).

"This is going to be probably the one that touches me the most," he said when asked about his selection in the game. "I'll definitely be wanting to play my best...It's me and Kobe's [Bryant] last go-around in the All-Star Game. I'm just looking forward to enjoying that moment.

"What I'm looking forward to in Toronto is just being back in that moment, being back hanging with the guys, being back playing in front of a lot of fans, playing in front of a great crowd in Toronto. You cherish those moments."

When asked about returning from injury, he said: "I expect a lot from myself. After the injury, going into the summer, I expected to return to form. I expected to be my old self…I did see myself being back to where I am now."

His Pacers missed the play-offs without their star last season, but should return this year. They are currently sixth in the East, having won 28 of their 52 games.

"We all here in Indiana think we should be a lot better than we are," he said on the season so far. "We've lost a lot of close games that we possibly should have won. But I don't think we're that bad off. We've challenged every team, we've challenged all the best teams with tough games.

"I think we definitely should be one of the top-echelon teams in the East. The East is competitive this year. Every team that is slotted where they're at right now is deserving of that position."

NBA All-Star 2016 sees the best players in the world go head-to-head in Toronto. Watch the game from 1.30am on Sunday night/Monday morning live on BT Sport 1 or live and on-demand via NBA LEAGUE PASS.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in